“This is more truth than you’d think” 

Over the years I’ve seen a lot of films set in the English/Irish countryside or in little towns. The latest one set in Littlehampton, England is somewhat based on a true story or that’s what the filmmaker Thea Sharrock wants you to think. By a coincidence of luck, she has two films out right now, The Beautiful Game on Netflix and Wicked Little Letters out this week in theaters. They are distinctly different films but they are both good. This one has a certain vibe that sets it apart from her other films.

In the little English town of Littlehampton, something strange is going on. A certain woman, Edith (Olivia Colman) has been getting threatening letters of a profane nature. Letters with plenty of obscenities and rude comments. Her parents Edward (Timothy Spall) and Victoria Swan (Gemma Jones) are both appalled by these terrible letters. They convince their daughter and the authorities that the culprit might be a disgruntled ex-friend of Edith, and next-door neighbor Rose Gooding (Jesse Buckley)

There is a dark comedy nature to this movie. You can’t help but laugh at some of the things that go on in this story that might or might not be true. Some of the funny things are the way the police handle the investigation into who is responsible for the letters. They like the keystone cops if you will. They bumble their way through this entire investigation.  A younger female cop played by Anjana Vasan is the one that gets picked on because she wants to get to the bottom of this and she is treated badly by her supervisors. It shouldn’t be funny but these guys are such idiots I couldn’t help but laugh at their antics.

With the thought of Vasan in the cast I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a few others in the cast that I enjoyed. Joanna Scanlan surprised me in a film a couple of years ago, After Love, and now she’s back giving another good performance opposite Vasan who are a team in this little story. They have a nice vibe together. Their unique qualities combine to bring a fun element to a movie that already has a fun vibe. I enjoyed this pairing within the context of the film.

Olivia Colman has been one of those actresses who have been on fire for the last ten or so years. She’s been nominated for Oscars and even won one for The Favorite.  She played all kinds of characters from Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown to an enigmatic Government official in Secret Invasion to a Hotel owner operator in Wonka and a movie theater employee in Empire of Light. She even worked opposite Jesse Buckley in The Lost Daughter. She just melds into whatever role she is playing. It seemed to me like she was having a blast as this woman in this little town who felt a little overworked and underrepresented. She kills this more comedic performance that relies more on her comedy chops.

Jesse Buckley came on the scene for me when I saw her in Wild Rose about a struggling mother who wants to be a country music singer. She’s done a lot of eclectic roles since in indie horror films and movies that put her in roles people can get behind like Women Talking or I’m Thinking of Ending Things. She is great in this role. She has a funny nature to her character with all the profanity she’s spewing.  These types of words come easily to her character which makes her the prime suspect in the investigation.  This character was well written and she’s fantastic opposite Colman and others in the cast.

I’m a fan of these types of little English films. They have a fun nature to them with the mystery that takes place within the context of the movie. There are so many goofy characters and they all play nicely into this equally goofy story. This is a period piece and this story fits into this period in history nicely.  It couldn’t take place today with all the phones and computers that people write on. Letters are a thing of the past.  This story is uniquely set in the years right after WWII.

Wicked Little Letters is a fun period piece.  It’s uniquely placed in a time in English history that makes it stand out in the time it takes place. Without the technology we have today to write with it shows that writing letters could work only in a story like this. This story had a lot of odd characters that made me laugh and a couple that stood out for their great acting abilities.  Colman and Buckley are both a couple of the best British actresses working today and their range shows out in this little movie. I had a lot of enjoyment watching this little story, true or not, unfold before my eyes.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen